Government announces 42 new Young Futures Hubs across 26 local authorities

The government has announced the next major expansion of the Young Futures Hubs and Transformation Programme, with 26 local authorities selected to establish new hubs across England. A further 42 Young Futures Hubs will be developed across the selected areas, building on the eight early adopter local authorities already involved in the programme. The government's ambition is to establish a national network of up to 50 Young Futures Hubs by March 2029.

Young Futures Hubs are intended to provide accessible, community-based places where young people can access a range of support. This includes universal youth provision alongside targeted and specialist services, with a particular focus on improving mental health and wellbeing, increasing opportunities and reducing vulnerability to crime.

_{Which local authorities have been selected?}

The 26 authorities are Barking and Dagenham; Barnsley; Blackpool; Bolton; Calderdale; Camden; Cornwall; Hackney; Isle of Wight; Kingston upon Hull; Knowsley; Lancashire; Middlesbrough; Newcastle upon Tyne; Northumberland; Oldham; Peterborough; Plymouth; Redcar and Cleveland; Rochdale; Salford; Sandwell; South Tyneside; Stoke-on-Trent; Torbay; and Waltham Forest.

Eleven of these authorities will receive funding for two hubs. Five of the existing early adopter authorities will also establish a second hub.

Importantly, the programme is about more than creating individual hub sites. Participating authorities will also undertake Local Youth Transformation, looking across their wider local youth offer and how services work together. The government describes the intended shift as moving from a fragmented landscape towards a more collaborative local system, bringing together services and support including mental health, careers, youth provision and crime prevention. Local authorities are now entering an important planning and co-creation phase. Between September 2026 and February 2027 they are expected to review existing youth provision and services and undertake planning and co-design with young people and partners. Implementation plans will then be submitted between February and March 2027.

Each participating authority is receiving up to £100,000 for planning and co-design, with further funding anticipated for implementation, including up to £300,000 per Young Futures Hub in 2027/28 and up to £500,000 for Local Youth Transformation projects.

_{Co-creation and partnership working will be central}

Alongside the announcement, the government has published detailed guidance for participating local authorities covering Young Futures Hubs, Local Youth Transformation and co-creation. There is a strong emphasis on involving young people from the outset rather than consulting them once plans have already been developed. The co-creation guidance describes young people and other community stakeholders as bringing expertise through their lived experience and emphasises their active involvement in designing services.

This creates an important challenge for local systems: developing the physical or virtual hub is only one part of the task. Authorities will also need to consider how partners work together, how young people experience pathways between services, how the wider workforce understands the model, and how learning and improvement become embedded across the system.

_{What can we learn from the early adopters?}

An interim evaluation of the eight early adopter areas has also now been published. It shows considerable variation in the models being developed, including single-site, hub-and-spoke and multi-site approaches. Early decisions about models and locations have drawn on local needs assessments, young people's views, mapping of existing provision and partnership expertise. This reinforces the importance of developing Young Futures Hubs around local need and existing community assets, rather than assuming that one model will work everywhere.

The next few months will therefore be particularly important for the 26 newly selected authorities. Effective needs assessment, genuine co-creation, strong partnership arrangements and a shared understanding across the workforce will all have a part to play in turning the national vision into an integrated local offer that makes sense to young people.